Affin Bank: Expect further OPR increases this year

Affin Bank Bhd is expecting more increases in the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) this year until the market goes back to normalcy and inflationary issues rectified.

Affin president and group CEO Datuk Wan Razly Abdullah Wan Ali said the world is going through a period of high commodity prices, high energy cost and high inflation rate.

“We are experiencing inflation right now driven by high commodity prices and high energy cost, so Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has to take action to normalise the situation.

“So, we expect to see a few more hikes to happen this year and we anticipate an increase of 50 basis points (bps). At present, 25bps has been raised so potentially another 25 bps to come,” he said at a press conference here yesterday.

On May 11, BNM increased the OPR by 25bps to 2%.

Meanwhile, Wan Razly said the ringgit should normalise once the central bank implements its plan to address the inflation rate.

“That will happen in due course as the ringgit’s performance is determined on exports, imports, and the business opportunities in the country,” he said.

Wan Razly said Affin Bank is expecting its loan growth to taper off because people often borrow less to minimise their costs with the anticipation of OPR hikes.

“We had good loan growth for the first quarter of this year. Our loan growth target for this year is at 12%, compared to 11% last year.”

Affin Bank also announced its collaboration with GAX MD Sdn Bhd (MYTHEO), a roboadviser platform offering an algorithm and automated discretionary investment portfolio management services powered by artificial intelligence technology. – Bernama